Chaos Within
by capslock-nanao
Summary: Aizen has discovered a forbidden chemical that brings out the evil and chaos in people. But who in the Gotei 13 will he choose to infect? And will the shinigami be able to save the infected? -ADOPTED FROM APPLE-DOODLE, FIRST TWO CHAPTERS ARE HERS.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Okay. Guys. I'm back. After a zillion-month long hiatus that I didn't even warn you about. I AM SO SORRY. CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME. I had a really crappy time of it, too. But I'm out of that now, and I should be updating a lot more now. I AM SORRY I LIED AND TOLD YOU I WOULD UPDATE A LOT. But I am back. Really. Swear.

Because! The amazing **AppleDoodle** allowed me to adopt her fabulously amazing story! THANK HER VORACIOUSLY.

And here it is! The first chapter of Chaos Within, written by her, for your viewing pleasure!

**Chapter 1**

Wherever there is light, there is shadow

Darkness dwells in everything; every living soul

But as sure as the day turns to night

It is the darkness within the light that makes us human

Aizen sat up high on his chalky-white throne, looking down upon the trembling form before him. He was in a bad mood, and did not want to be disappointed.

"Your report?" he requested, referring to the highly important mission on which he had previously sent this quivering arrancar. He was a low level arrancar, with abilities far below that of an Espada, or even a Fraccion. Aizen couldn't even remember his name.

"Y-yes, Aizen-sama. I am sorry to inform you that we lost three men. We were ambushed, and highly outnumbered. I was the only survivor."

Aizen sighed. "And what of the artifact I requested you recover?"

The arrancar held out an ornate wooden box, decorated in strange, beautiful symbols.

"I was unable to check the contents, as the box is bound in an exceptionally strong kidou, specifically designed so that it can only be broken by a captain-level shinigami."

Aizen smiled. With a spell like that binding it, this was sure to be the thing he'd been searching for. He took the box from the arrancar, before placing it on the floor before Ichimaru Gin, signalling for the subordinate to do the honours. Gin happily obliged, drawing his zanpakutou and slicing down at the box, causing a flurry of golden sparks to cascade across the room as his blade met the invisible kidou shield.

There was a loud crack, followed by a sound like that of fragments of glass tinkling to the floor, echoed throughout the otherwise silent hall. The protective shield had been destroyed, and Aizen was now free to retrieve the box's contents.

He carefully lifted the lid and peered inside.

The box was empty except for a small vial, about the size of Aizen's thumb, filled with an inky black liquid.

"Excellent," he said. "Now we may begin an important phase of my plan."

Soul Society was in a state of temporary peace. Temporary, because the traitor Aizen was still very much at large, far away in Hueco Mundo, but his absence left a mild peace none the less. It was during that false peace, in the shade of an old sakura tree, that Captain Kyouraku sat lost in his thoughts. He stared up at the tree, watching intently as the final blossom fell gently to the ground, fluttering in both graceful peace and beauty. The season for cherry blossoms was long over, and now even that one small flower, just now clinging so desperately to existence, had fallen to join its comrades down below.

Everything falls.

Everything dies.

He sighed, and turned his attention to the clear blue sky above. Spring would come again. Spring always came again.

Hitsugaya Toushiro was a tidy person by nature. He liked order. It helped him gather his thoughts and organise for the future. This did not, however, mean that he enjoyed cleaning up after other peoples' mess. The person in question who was most likely to leave a trail of untidiness and disorder before him was of course his own fukutaicho, Matsumoto Rangiku.

It had become a routine of sorts for the two of them, that Hitsugaya would arrive in the office perfectly on time, if not a few minutes earlier, and neatly begin to complete that day's paperwork on his own in silence. Matsumoto would then break the silence by stumbling in to work at least two hours late, bottle of sake already in hand, gushing about how 'wasted' she'd gotten the night before. Her captain would promptly yell at her for being so late, and she would reply with asking him to be quieter, as her head hurt due to the killer hangover she had.

Yes, this was a vaguely peaceful time, as far as wars go, but death-threats could often be heard spewing from the tenth-division headquarters, as conversations such as this occurred:

"Get off your lazy butt and do some paperwork right this instant, or I'll bankai your ass!"

"Aw, taicho, 'bankai' isn't a verb. It's a noun. Honestly, I would have thought doing all that paperwork every day would have improved your grammar."

"Matsumoto!"

These days, life was peaceful. Arguing was just how the tenth squad spent their time.

But hidden behind this peaceful façade, chaos was lurking in the shadows.

**A/N:** Review this, then thank her. THANK HER HARD


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** AppleDoodle wrote this one, but I'll be taking over next chapter. Thanks to everyone who read. Reviews are my sustenance C:

**Chapter 2**

There are three types of people in this world:

The good -

Who sometimes do bad things,

The evil -

Who have a calculated plan to cause pain and destruction,

And the monsters -

Who have fallen deeper and deeper into chaos, until not one shred of their humanity remains.

But then, do they even count as human?

Hitsugaya was alone in the office doing paperwork when the alarm bell sounded. As easily as a hammer through glass, it shattered the haze of peace that once hung heavy in the air, sending a thousand broken hopes cascading into nothingness with its monotone din. But the captain of the tenth squad was ready. He was always ready. Always prepared. One must be professional about such things.

He was up and through the office door in a matter of seconds, not waiting for Matsumoto. She would find him again soon enough – she always did. That was the thing about his flamboyant vice-captain; even though she was quite possibly the worst person to try and force to do office work, when it came down to it, he could always depend on her in a crisis (no matter how drunk she'd been previously). He shunpoed from the tenth squad's barracks to a nearby rooftop, where he could easily identify the threat behind the alarm.

He felt the ominous reiatsu a good few seconds before he saw them: five figures stepping from the warped mouth of a garganta. Arrancars. And they were looking for trouble. He cursed under his breath as he realised they were all the way across Sereitei, but then relaxed as he saw what that meant. He almost smiled at the thought of where that garganta had materialised. Either these arrancars were stupid, ignorant, or had a really bad sense of direction, because they were currently situated slap bang in the middle of eleventh squad territory.

This was going to be interesting.

Ulquiorra waited patiently, his face void of any emotion, as he surveyed the scene before him. This 'Sereitei', home to the shinigami, didn't look even half as exciting as his four companions made it out to be. Oh well. They were just low level arrancar, not even numeros – they found everything exciting. Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, he spotted something worthy of his attention – a group of four shinigami were approaching. He could sense one, maybe two captain-class reiatsus among the group, but they would hardly be a threat. Even if it was by only one person, these four shinigami were still outnumbered.

As they drew closer, Ulquiorra decided to choose their target. They did have a mission to complete, after all. Against his better judgment, he had a feeling that the sanest of the group was the man bringing up the rear, with feathers on his eyebrows. The man had his sword drawn, but instead of using it for its conventional purpose, seemed to be using it to look at his reflection. And that was the sane one. Right.

Using a long, thin finger, Ulquiorra pointed at the narcissistic-looking shinigami, to indicate to the arrancar surrounding him who their target would be. They understood, now they simply had to wait for their opponents to arrive. They didn't have to wait long.

Zaraki Kenpachi, along with his lieutenant, third and fifth seat leapt onto the rooftop the arrancar were standing on. Immediately, Kenpachi chose his opponent - the one that happened to be closest to him, pausing only for a second in order to tell Yachiru to get off his back and watch from a safe distance. Ikkaku decided to go for the largest of the group, hoping that the arrancar's great size would make for a more entertaining battle. Yumichika, too, was ready to face up with one of the remaining three arrancar, but was approached by two; the third standing back and watching, a blank look on his face. But Yumichika didn't panic. He could still win, even if he was outnumbered, right?

Yachiru bounded happily to the sidelines, eager to see all the action. Ulquiorra observed her, vaguely interested. The two of them stood on opposite sides of the battlefield, watching their comrades draw their swords (with the exception of Kenpachi, whose sword had been out from the start) and prepare for battle. They were both similar in the fact that they were both observers, but Ulquiorra was quick to see their similarities ended there. The little pink-haired girl was practically bouncing with excitement, cheering on her 'Ken-chan' and giggling with such pure delight that she could've been watching a comedy show, or a litter of cute little kittens. But she was not. She was watching her friends prepare to fight to the death against the enemy, in a bloody conflict that they may well not come out of alive. Why was she smiling at the thought of such pain? Why did this child delight in the imminent bloodshed? Such answers were beyond Ulquiorra, so he decided to focus on the battles beginning before him.

Ikkaku and his opponent were dodging each other's blades in a flurry of complicated steps, each trying his best to lob the other's head off. Although his rival was easily a head taller than him, the muscular arrancar was slow and clumsy, barely dodging most of his attacks. Ikkaku had managed to get a few blows in easily, while he himself was unscathed. It was obvious who was the greater warrior of the two, and as he released his shikai, he knew this fight was going to be over quickly.

Kenpachi stood a good foot taller than his lean opponent, grinning sadistically. Although the arrancar he was fighting looked built for speed, it was obvious his power didn't even come close to that of the eleventh squad captain, who towered over him, sword not even raised. Kenpachi left his defense wide open (not that he cared much about it anyway) in order to allow his competition to strike him. He wanted to see how strong this guy really was, and whether he packed a punch. The arrancar raised his sword, seeing the opening.

"Hit me with your best shot," Kenpachi said, grinning.

Yumichika was having a little more trouble than the others. The two arrancars he was facing, one male and the other female, circled him like vultures; occasionally darting inwards for a quick strike before jumping back again like predators closing in on a wounded animal. Yumichika was most offended by this movement. For a member of the eleventh division to be treated like weak prey was completely absurd. He was a warrior; a member of the Zaraki squad, and he was going to fight back.

He released his shikai, his katana instantly splitting into several curved blades. Confident now, he sliced out at the nearest of his attackers, the male, hacking a large gash across his chest. It was shallow, though - not nearly enough to kill the arrancar. But it slowed the 'vulture's' circling, which gave Yumichika confidence.

He observed his opponents more closely now, and got the overall impression that they were like twins. They were both roughly the same height, and although they had different hair and eye colours (the female had long dark hair tied roughly back in a ponytail, and had strange yellow eyes, while the male had a shock of messy blond locks, and a pair of dark, cold eyes) they shared one very unique feature – their masks. Both had masks that covered just their noses in a particular fashion, sticking out and curving in such an unnatural and strange way, that it made the two look like they had beaks. Yes, they were definitely vultures – vulture twins. And they were ugly.

Suddenly, Yumichika noticed that since the start of the battle no one had said a word. The silence was unsettling, as he was used to battles in which the two enemies would constantly throw insults and retorts at each other, ever fuelling their motivation to fight. Adamant on ruining the quiet, Yumichika tried to make conversation with his two rivals.

"So… umm… Are the two of you related, then?"

The 'Vulture Twins' said nothing, simply glaring at him over their beak-like masks.

"I'll take that as a no, then. You can't blame me for thinking it, though, what with your… interesting masks." A different word to describe the two arrancar crossed his mind as they stared at him, but he refused to say it. Not yet. But it kept burning through his mind, forcing all other thoughts out until he couldn't help yelling it at the top of his voice:

"UGLY! THE TWO OF YOU ARE SO FUG-PUGLY THAT YOU LOOK LIKE A PAIR OF MESSED-UP VULTURES!"

Needless to say, that got their attention.

The Vulture Twins stared at him, shocked, for a couple of seconds, before turning to each other and grinning sinisterly. They then resumed their usual circling, but this time with more malicious intent. This time, they were going for the kill.

Kenpachi grinned, as his opponent ran at him at full speed. The eleventh captain just stood, arms wide open, anticipating the blow. He wanted to know how hard this guy could strike, but looking at him, Kenpachi wondered whether the weedy-looking arrancar would even be able to cut him. When the blow came, however, metal did meet flesh, as the arrancar's blade cut down on Kenpachi's chest. He looked down, unsurprised. The wound inflicted was very minor, drawing a minimum amount of blood.

"Excellent," he grinned psychotically. "Now it's my turn!"

Kenpachi launched himself at his opponent, laughing crazily, sword raised. He would have chopped him right in half, too, had the arrancar not sonidoed out of the way at the last second. Zaraki-taicho flew at him again, but once again, his opponent dodged. Damn, this guy is fast, he thought.

The speedy arrancar was in his element, now, easily jumping around at near-impossible speeds. Kenpachi growled. How was he going to hit this guy if he couldn't catch him? Annoyed, he grabbed out with his free hand in the vague direction he believed his opponent could be. It just happened to be pot luck, that there came a sickening crunch, and the eleventh division captain looked up to see he'd been perfectly on target, and now had the evasive arrancar in his firm grip. Unfortunately, Zaraki Kenpachi did not know his own strength, and when grasping hold of his opponent's neck, had snapped it like a twig, killing him instantly.

"Ooops," he grinned. "That was no fun at all."

Ikkaku struck his opponent hard, sending him flying. This was too easy. This guy wasn't even as good as the first arrancar he'd fought, who he'd had to use his bankai on. His current opponent, quite frankly, sucked. Sure, when the guy did mange to get a blow in, he struck hard. But he was too slow to do many attacks at all, before Ikkaku struck him with perfect precision.

As Madarame Ikkaku dodged another feeble attack from his feeble opponent, he realised his captain had already finished his battle. No surprises there. But as he felt the surrounding reiatsu, he realised the strength of the arrancars facing Yumichika were far more powerful than that of his own opponent, or his captain's. And there were two of them. How come he got all the fun? It wasn't fair.

Yumichika was constantly moving, constantly keeping an eye out for the two arrancar either side of him. They were blocking all of the attacks he threw at them, and their beaky smiles were growing more and more menacing. The male arrancar made a swipe at him, in an attempt to slice Yumichika in two. At the last minute, he managed to block the well-aimed attack, keeping his opponent's blade at bay with his own.

Suddenly, he felt a searing pain spread through his chest. With horror, he realised he'd taken his eye off the female arrancar, who had now just stabbed him from behind. Yumichika cursed, as his vision went blurry and blood trickled from his mouth.

Damn it, he thought.

Then, it all went black.

**A/N:** Cliffhanger~


End file.
